護花近衛 - 第1617章 治療蛇毒 - 翰墨軒

Wei Zhao had watched the whole affair unfold from beginning to end. First, it struck him as odd that Chen Xi and Foreman Zhu were selling snakes here. He knew Foreman Zhu harbored ill intentions — that much Wei Zhao understood — but what truly astonished him was that after only a few days out of sight, the man had somehow become an Earth Rank expert!

Of course, Wei Zhao did not believe Chen Xi was in cahoots with Foreman Zhu. First, he understood Chen Xi's character well enough. Second, Foreman Zhu wanted to harm Chen Xi's mother — so the notion that she would ever join forces with him was simply unthinkable.

If Foreman Zhu were nothing more than a destitute scavenger like Chen Xi, selling ordinary snakes here would hardly strike Wei Zhao as strange. But for an Earth Rank expert of Foreman Zhu's caliber to come peddling garden snakes — now that was decidedly sinister.

And the scene earlier, when Gao Xiaofu had gone to buy a snake and Foreman Zhu had been reluctant to sell — that too had not escaped Wei Zhao's notice. This only deepened his suspicion that there was something wrong with those snakes. Now, watching Gao Xiaofu lying bitten, his wound swollen high and his breathing rapid, only confirmed the point.

With Wei Zhao's years of experience surviving in the wild, he knew that variety of garden snake carried no venom whatsoever and could not possibly produce the symptoms afflicting Gao Xiaofu. And Foreman Zhu — upon seeing Chen Xi bitten by a snake, instead of rushing to her aid, he had simply run off. That only made the stench of conspiracy all the stronger.

Yet Chen Xi's complexion was growing paler by the moment, her breathing turning ragged as well — on the verge of collapsing to the ground unconscious.

Of course, the rest of the students had all their attention fixed on Gao Xiaofu and Zhong Yongliang, and not a soul noticed Chen Xi. Wei Zhao sighed inwardly. It seemed he was being forced to step in. As for Foreman Zhu's intentions, Wei Zhao had more than a fair guess.

Had Wei Zhao not known that Foreman Zhu was an Earth Rank expert and that his very presence here selling snakes was itself suspicious, he would not have thought much of it. But now, recalling Foreman Zhu's earlier performance — how utterly contrived and false it had been.

Wei Zhao did not know what Foreman Zhu's ultimate goal was, but he was certain the man meant harm to Chen Xi and her mother. It was simply that Wei Zhao had not yet uncovered Foreman Zhu's true background and purpose, so he had not acted rashly.

Wei Zhao strode quickly toward Chen Xi and said, "Little Xi, don't panic. Let me handle your snake venom."

"Ah! Big Brother Wei Zhao..." At the sudden appearance of Wei Zhao, Chen Xi's cheeks flushed crimson with embarrassment. Her already hurried breathing quickened even further. Half startled and half overjoyed, she cried, "Big Brother Wei Zhao — you're here too?"

"Mm." Wei Zhao swiftly produced the silver needles he always carried. First he sealed off several acupoints along Chen Xi's body to stop the venom from spreading, then he seized her finger and began sucking it out. Wei Zhao did not think twice about it — after all, ordinary poisons held little effect against him. Moreover, he had already witnessed Zhang Naipao and Zhong Yongliang's condition: though both had taken a small dose of poison, they had still not passed out after all this time, which said the venom was not terribly fierce.

That was why Wei Zhao had simply put his mouth directly to the wound and sucked the venom out for Chen Xi. Of course, the instant Wei Zhao made contact with her wound, the jade pendant had issued a brief warning — but he paid it no mind, since the wound was poisoned, and it was only natural for the pendant to sound an alarm.